1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with apparatus for use in heating a shoe part to activate adhesive on a surface thereof, the apparatus comprising a heating member arranged to emit infra-red radiation, and a support for a shoe part on which a shoe part can be positioned to be heated by infra-red radiation emitted by the heating member.
2. Prior Art
In the specification of our copending U.S. Pat. No. 325,384, there is described an apparatus in which a heating member in the shape of a plate emits infra-red radiation towards a support for a lasted shoe upper above the heating member and towards a support for a shoe sole beneath the heating member. In this apparatus, the continuous surface of the heating member avoids color sensitivity problems and the need to move the heating member to conform to the surface of a shoe part is also avoided. However, in this apparatus, because the heating member is continuously maintained at high temperature and because the heating member is uncovered except for a wire mesh support for a lasted shoe upper, not only is the operator of the apparatus exposed to an uncomfortable amount of infra-red radiation but also the energy consumption of the apparatus is undesirably high as a considerable amount of heat escapes when no shoe part is on the support.
It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for use in heating a shoe part in which the exposure of an operator of the apparatus to infra-red radiation is reduced and the energy consumption of the apparatus is reduced in comparison to the apparatus described above.